The Satch Sanders Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Friday, August 23rd, 2002
Please take me back to New
York City during the 1940s.
What stands out most for you during this time in
your life?
That period isn’t something that I currently dwell on,
although I would certainly give it much thought if I
were to write a book about my life.
I grew up in New York, and I didn’t have much
in terms of resources.
I didn’t have much money at this particular
point in my life. However, this did not prohibit me from learning, nor did it
impede my growth as a an individual.
You graduated from Seward
Park High School in New York.
Please tell me a little about your time there.
Yes, I went to school at Seward Park.
I loved it there, and I did quite well.
It was a three year high school, and I didn’t
play basketball that first year.
I played in church leagues and also in community
leagues, but it wasn’t until my eleventh grade year
that I played basketball for Seward Park.
It was a good experience, and I enjoyed it very
much. It’s been many years ago, however, so the details are quite
sketchy as you can imagine.
Following graduation you played collegiate basketball at New York University. Please tell me a little about your experience at NYU.
They
were four good years, although at this point it is hard
to remember details.
There has been so much water over the dam,
so-to-speak. It
was a tremendous experience.
NYU is an outstanding educational institution,
and from an athletic standpoint it afforded me the
opportunity to play against quality competition.
We played against a variety of topflight
competition, such as the Harlem Globetrotters, all those
fine Eastern League players, etc.
NYU was close to home, which in itself was an added bonus. Howard Cann was the head coach when I arrived on campus, and Ray Lump was his assistant. Howard was quite a man, a legend at NYU who starred in football, basketball and track. He was also a member of the Olympic team as a shot-putter. When Howard and Ray stepped away in came Lucio Rossini and Cal Ramsey. My junior year we did quite well in the NIT, and the following year reached the NCAA Final Four. We ended up losing to Ohio State, but going that far was quite an accomplishment for that team.
Howard Cann’s
accomplishments at NYU are Buynonesque – he was a
three sport star, Olympic athlete, and winner of more
than 400 games as the head basketball coach.
What was it like to play for Mr. Cann?
I was catching Howard as his career was winding down at
NYU. He was
my coach the first two years there, and it was a very
enjoyable experience.
Unfortunately, we didn’t experience success as
a team until after Howard retired and Lou assumed
command of the program. I don’t believe that this was Howard’s fault in any way,
because his record speaks for itself.
It was simply a matter of timing, of the team
coming together when it did.
I’ve read that you – and
just about everyone else – looked up to Mr. Cann in
more ways than one.
The James Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of
Fame lists him at 7’-2”, 267 pounds.
[Laughs.] Howard
was 6’-5” and not that heavy, so those numbers are
erroneous. As
can often happen with exploits and achievements, I
suppose this is a case of things getting bigger with
time.
